If we ever get a boat, we “Otter” get one of these boxes. It’s a watertight case for a video iPod — $50 from a company called Otter Box, of course. You can still work the iPod controls while it’s locked in the case.

The company also has a laptop case, though it’s quite heavy, so it’s not something you want to carry around — with or without a laptop computer inside. Another disadvantage for underwater use is you have to take the computer out of the case to use it, which kind of defeats the purpose of being watertight, we guess. But it seems just right for boats, where a laptop computer would likely be brought aboard but would always be subject to spray or simply sliding off onto a wet surface.

The same circumstances might apply to other cases Otter Box makes, for handheld PDAs, GPS locators and even headphones. It also makes a big watertight case for desktop computers, which we guess is for people working under leaky roofs or hyperactive sprinkler systems.

We’ve seen such cases before over the years, but what got our attention is the claim that some of these are completely watertight to a depth of 100 feet. Too bad the iPod case works to only 3 feet; we’ve always wanted to listen to our iPod while collecting sponges in the Keys. If you’re still wet behind the ears, you can take a look at more waterproof cases at the Web site: Otterbox.com.